From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann
CARY, NC -- Call it "courting the 'old coot' vote."

After an afternoon of controversy sparked by comments made in Charlotte, NC, Bill Clinton stuck to lighter fare at a senior center in Cary, a well-to-do suburb of Raleigh.  

"I've become a nut with these crazy Sudoku puzzles!" he exclaimed to knowing chuckles from a crowded audience of not a few octogenarians.  Clinton went on to clarify that his affection for the addictive numerical mind-benders is derived from an article in the Journal of American Medicine claiming that "after 50,  if you do one crossword puzzle, one set of math problems or a sudoku puzzle a day you cut your chances of Alzheimers in half!"  

"Interesting, huh?"  he added brightly.   

The mature humor came at the same time the Clinton campaign issued a statement to clarify the former president's earlier remark that a matchup between McCain and Clinton would be one "between two people who love this country" without "all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics." A campaign spokesman says that the comment was meant to lament, not launch, attacks on rival candidates' patriotism.

Clinton also said in Cary that today's swing through the Tar Heel State marks "the beginning of what I hope will be many trips to North Carolina between now and your primary day."  He mentioned that his wife will be in the state "next week, and I think every week" until May 6th.

"This whole thing could come down to what you all decide to do in North Carolina," he said, prompting applause from Democrats who have had the chance to cast precious few decisive votes in a presidential primary during their long lifetimes.

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
EUGENE, Ore. -- The crowd at the University of Oregon let Barack Obama off the hook Friday night, even though he bet against their team in the NCAA tournament.

"I'm glad I'm not an opposing team. This is what they call the pit," Obama said as he looked out over the crowd of 9000 "quacking" fans in Mac Court stadium.

"Alright ducks I know this is a tough night for you. But I tell you what, Illinois didn't even make the  NCAA this year," Obama said.

Oregon lost to Mississippi State last night, and Obama's bracket had chosen the Bulldogs to win over over the Ducks.

But there was no need for Obama to win over this crowd. Obama fans started lining up at 6am this morning. Garrett and Heather Bridgens, school teachers from nearby Cottage Grove, OR said their high school students had taken turns waiting in line all day.

Around 6000 people who couldn't get into the event waited in an overflow to see Obama and others thronged the sidewalks of the school in a long procession waving cheerfully at the motorcade as it passed by.

It was a good end to a difficult week. Obama bounded on stage to "The City of Blinding Light," a campaign staple that has been missing from the road lately as the campaign has tried to move away from rallies towards more sober town halls and message events.

Obama addressed the comments made by Reverend Jeremiah Wright by rwferencing the speech he gave in Philadelphia. He called the focus on it a "distraction" and promised the crowd thar "this time we will not be distracted. This time we will not be waylaid.'

Obama will wrap up his Oregon tour Saturday with a town hall in Medford.

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
SALEM, Ore. -- General Tony McPeak, a co-chair of the Obama campaign, and a former Chief of Staff of the United States Airforce in the Clinton Administration, President Clinton's comments on patriotic Americans Friday to Joe McCarthy.  

"I think it's horrible. I'm really disappointed because I worked for President Clinton, you know?" McPeak said when asked by reporters.

"We know Barack Obama don't we? Do we think Barack Obama loves America? Is this stupid or what?" he demanded of the press surrounding him.

"It sounds more like McCarthy. I grew up, I was going to college when Joe
McCarthy was accusing good Americans of being traitors, so I've had enough of it," he added.

Told that the Clinton campaign had tried to distance itself from Bill Clinton's comment, McPeak implied that the campaign had been down this road before with the former president.

"It's a use of language as a disguised insult.  We've seen this before, this
little clever spin that's put on stuff," he said.

"I have no idea what his intentions are but I'm disappointed in the statement. I think Bill Clinton is, or ought to be, better than that," McPeak concluded.

From NBC's Lee Cowan
PORTLAND -- Bill Richardson described the conversation he had with Hillary Clinton on his decision to endorse Barack Obama as "heated" in an exclusive with NBC Nightly News today.
 
Both Richardson and Obama shared the spotlight this afternoon at a press conference and later in a sit down interview with NBC's Lee Cowan. (Please insert link to NN spot)

Richardson described the conversation that he had with Clinton last night "tough."

"It was tough to make the call, but I did. It got a little heated. It got a little tense. But it was understood, and I'm proud of my decision."

He stressed that his decision to endorse Obama came a week before, but it was reinforced by the speech Obama gave on race last Tuesday. He cited his own racial background as a Hispanic to underscore why the speech was so significant.

"I'm a Hispanic and I felt that what he said about being a nation of what all of us being together really clenched it," he said.

Calling for unity, Richardson claimed that Democrats would be "wounded" if the drawn out battle between Clinton and Obama continued.   

"We have a man who's won many, many primaries. Who's won the most primaries and delegates. Who's unifying the party and the country. Senator Clinton has run a great race, I'm not saying she should withdraw that's her decision. But we can't be wounded heading into Denver and the Democratic convention with negative campaigning. And this campaign has gotten too negative," he said.

"But I do so now just with enormous enthusiasm but enormous respect. I believe that Senator Obama is going to be the nomnee. I'm not asking anybody to get out of the race, but I believe it's time to get behind a nominee who can win," Richardson said.

Obama stressed that Richardson's endorsement provides him with more legitimacy on foreign policy.

"There's no doubt on national security he's got the kind of experience that Senator Clinton and John McCain talk about but has a set of concrete accomplishment that they can't compare with," Obama said.

"I know this man can be Commander-in-chief," Richardson said.

As for any hint that the two seated together might be harbinger of a vice presidential nod for Richardson, Obama called it "a premature ticket."

"I can tell you that there are very few people in American public life that have the breadth and depth of experience that Bill Richardson has," Obama said, adding that he would play a role in the campaign and hinting that he would have a role in a future Obama administration.

Read the full text of the interview here.
 

From NBC's Jim Popkin and Libby Leist
Two of the government contractors who allegedly took a peek at Sen. Barack Obama's passport records worked for a Virginia-based firm called Stanley, Inc., according to U.S. government officials with knowledge of the State Department passport controversy.

NBC News contacted a Stanley, Inc. spokeswoman this afternoon, and informed her that two sources had confirmed that employees at her firm were involved with the scandal. The spokeswoman would only comment: "We've been directed by the State Department to direct all media calls to them."

The government officials tell NBC News that Stanley Inc. fired the two workers. A worker at a second contracting company, not related to Stanley, Inc.,  also allegedly took a look at the Obama files and those belonging to Sen. John McCain. That person has been disciplined but not yet been fired, State Department officials say.

Stanley, Inc., is headquartered in Arlington, Va. and is employee-owned. The State Department awarded it a contract for $164 million in 2006. The contract calls for Stanley to print and mail millions of new U.S. passports.

One Stanley, Inc., contractor allegedly looked at Obama's passport records on January 9, and then a second Stanley employee allegedly took a peek at similar Obama records on February 21, the officials said. Stanley, Inc., fired both workers after the alleged security breaches were discovered.

According to its website: "Stanley has approximately 3,500 employees at more than 100 locations in the U.S. and worldwide. Stanley offers a full-spectrum systems integration portfolio of services, providing comprehensive solutions for all phases of a program, product, or business lifecycle to meet each customer's mission-critical requirements."

From NBC's Bethany Thomas
PARIS -- John McCain wrapped up his five-country swing to the Middle East and Europe by meeting with two familiar faces- one old and one new.  In London this morning, former Prime Minister Tony Blair and McCain had breakfast together at the swanky Mandarin Oriental hotel.  A quick photo-op for reporters before the official visit quickly became a reflection of McCain's recent travels.  On the friendship with Britain, McCain said, "What I've learned from our trip is that our alliance and our relationship is still strong. There are areas such as climate change, transparency of international financial institutions, Israeli-Palestinian peace process and others that we need to work with more closely together."

Throughout the entire week, McCain has been careful to distinguish this trip as a Congressional fact-finding mission that he's leading as the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee.  Nevertheless, questions on the election and McCain's candidacy have followed him and various world leaders at every country's stop.  This morning Mr. Blair tried to deflect the question, but when asked if he was interested in the race, he said, "I think there's great interest in the election everywhere."

Across the English Channel, McCain stopped at the Elysee Palace to greet the new president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.  The senator regularly praises Sarkozy on the stump for his forward thinking on green technology and for his choice of vacationing in New Hampshire.  He likes to tell the joke to audiences back in the US, "In case you haven't noticed, France elected a very pro-American president, which means if you live long enough, anything can happen!" 

After a private meeting, McCain spoke to a gathering of mostly French journalists. Before news had hit on the breach of McCain's passport, one reporter asked about Obama's breach.  He said, "If anyone's  privacy is breached they deserve an apology and a complete investigation I believe that will take place. The U.S. values everyone's privacy  and corrective action should be taken." 

Minutes later in the car, McCain was informed that his privacy had also been compromised.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
called McCain in Paris with the news.

The campaign plans to compile the trip findings from the overseas tour in a foreign policy speech next week.

From NBC/NJ's Carrie Dann (see update)
CHARLOTTE, NC -- At a small VFW hall in Charlotte, NC, today, former president Bill Clinton contemplated a McCain/Clinton general election matchup, saying that it would one between "two people who loved this country" without "all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

"I think it would be a great thing if we had an election year where you had two people who loved this country and were devoted to the interest of this country," said the former president. "And people could actually ask themselves who is right on these issues, instead of all this other stuff that always seems to intrude itself on our politics."

In the wake of controversy over comments made by  Barack Obama's former minister, Clinton's comments could be seen as an effort to draw attention to the issue of patriotism in a state with a high population of veterans.

The former president made the comments to less than 80 audience members at an invite-only event focused on veterans issues.  The audience was subdued as Clinton gravely outlined a message of patriotism and honor for military service, The small sea of navy-blue VFW caps nodded along in agreement.

Take away ten of the cameras and fifty degrees Farenheit, and this could have been a John McCain event in Waterloo, Iowa, in November 2007.

The message was different, but the mood was much the same.

Update: Bill Clinton spokesperson Matt McKenna clarifies the former president's comment: "Actually, as is indicated by the quote itself, President Clinton was talking about the need to talk about issues, rather than falsely questioning any candidate's patriotism.

He was lamenting that these kind of distractions 'always seems to intrude' on political campaigns. This consistent with his criticism of the 'politics of personal destruction,' which dates back 16 years."

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
PORTLAND -- After Richardson endorsed Obama this morning, hailing him as a "once in a lifetime leader," Obama gave one of the fieriest speeches he has delivered in weeks.

"It's not just a change in parties. It's not just putting forward a bunch of ten point plans. It's restoring a sense that this government is working for you and fighting for you and is of and by the United States of America," he said.
 
He and Richardson took the stage together, and they hugged twice, when Richardson turned to Obama to say he endorsed him for president and at the end of his speech.  The largely white audience in Portland, shouted, screamed and chanted "Yes We Can!" To which Richardson, who had sprinkled some Spanish into his speech, shouted back, "Si se puede! Si se puede!"

From NBC's Mark Murray
In his remarks today, Bill Richardson specifically cited Obama's speech on race Tuesday as a reason for his endorsement.

"Earlier this week, an extraordinary American gave a historic speech. Senator Barack Obama addressed the issue of race with the eloquence and sincerity and decency and optimism we have come to expect of him," he said, according to his prepared remarks. "He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths. Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility."

VIDEO: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson endorses Barack Obama for president before an enthusiastic crowd in Portland, Ore.

Richardson continued, "Senator Obama could have given a safer speech. He is, after all, well ahead in the delegate count for our party's nomination. He could have just waited for the controversy over the deplorable remarks of Reverend Wright to subside, as it surely would have. Instead, Senator Obama showed us once again what kind of leader he is. He spoke to us as adults... He appealed to the best in us."

"As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants--specifically Hispanics-- by too many in this country... Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race."

Click below for Richardson's full remarks....

Governor Richardson's Prepared Remarks
Barack Obama Rally Speech
Portland, Oregon
Friday, March 21, 2008

My friends,

Earlier this week, an extraordinary American gave a historic speech. 

Senator Barack Obama addressed the issue of race with the eloquence and sincerity and decency and optimism we have come to expect of him. 

He did not seek to evade tough issues or to soothe us with comforting half-truths. 

Rather, he inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility.

Senator Obama could have given a safer speech. 

He is, after all, well ahead in the delegate count for our party's nomination. 

He could have just waited for the controversy over the deplorable remarks of Reverend Wright to subside, as it surely would have. 

Instead, Senator Obama showed us once again what kind of leader he is. 

He spoke to us as adults. 

He asked us to ponder the weight of our racially-divided past, to rise above it, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together. 

Senator Obama reminded us that cynicism is not realism, and that hope is not folly. 

He called upon us not just to dream about a less racially-divided America, but also to do the hard work needed to build such an America. 

He asked every American to see the reality and the pain of other Americans, so that together we can rise above that which has divided us.

He appealed to the best in us.

As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. 

I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants--specifically Hispanics-- by too many in this country.

Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences-and place blame on others not like them. 

We all know the real culprit -- the disastrous economic policies of the Bush Administration!

Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race.

He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans. 

His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. 

And, after 8 years of George W. Bush, we will desperately need such a leader.

Our national security and our global standing have been gravely damaged by the divisive partisanship of recent years. 

We need a President who can bring us together as a nation so that we can face urgent global challenges and repair the damage done in the last 7 years. 

Barack Obama will make the historic and vital investments into renewable energy, to help create clean energy jobs and fight global warming.

Barack knows that the safety and future of every American child requires that we restore our shared sense of national purpose, so that we can then set about the hard work of rebuilding our alliances and rehabilitating our image in a dangerous world.

By uniting our nation, we can reverse America's global decline. 

We need a realistic, principled, and bipartisan foreign policy again. 

We must restore our international reputation, our influence and our capacity to lead others. 

America must become the beacon for the world again.

We need a foreign policy based upon American ideals, and not upon the mere ideology of a President. 

A foreign policy of diplomacy and respect for international human rights.

We prospered and prevailed in the Cold War because both our friends and our enemies knew that containment of the Soviet Union and the promotion of democratic values was not a Democratic or a Republican policy - it was an American policy--the very essence of what America was.

Senator Obama understands the importance of realism, principle, and bipartisanship in foreign policy. 

He opposed the Iraq war from the beginning because he knew that, despite what the Administration claimed, this war would not be easy. 

He also opposed the war because he saw President Bush's rush to employ military force, and to do so without the support of most of our allies, as dangerous and unwarranted. 

And he saw the war also for what it so quickly became - a terrible source of partisan political division -- and a catastrophic distraction from the war that had united us against the real threat posed by Al Qaeda. 

Now, I trust him to do what is so long overdue-End the Iraq war and bring our troops home!!

I know Senator Obama well. 

I first got to know him when I chaired the last Democratic National Convention, where he gave that wonderful keynote address. 

And then, last year, as we campaigned against each other for the Presidency, I came to fully appreciate his steadfast patriotism and remarkable talents. 

I also felt a kinship with him because we both had one foreign-born parent and we both lived abroad as children. 

In part because of these experiences, Barack and I share a deep sense of our nation's special responsibilities in the world.

[Turn toward Obama and smile]

Barack Obama, you are an extraordinary leader who has shown courage, sound judgment and wisdom throughout your career. 

You understand the security challenges of the 21st century, and you will be an outstanding Commander in Chief. 

Above all, you will be a President who brings this nation together and restores American global leadership. 

You will make every American proud to be an American, and I am very proud indeed to endorse your candidacy. 

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to say that we are blessed to have two great American leaders and great Democrats running for President. 

My great affection and admiration for Hillary Clinton and President Bill Clinton will never waver. 

It is time, however, for Democrats to stop fighting amongst ourselves and to prepare for the tough fight we will face against John McCain in the Fall.  

The 1990's were a decade of peace and prosperity because of the competent and enlightened leadership of the Clinton administration, but it is now time for a new generation of leadership to lead America forward. 

Barack Obama will be a historic and a great President, who can bring us the change we so desperately need by bringing us together as a nation here at home and with our allies abroad. 

I know that all Democrats will work tirelessly to get him elected.

It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce to you the next President of the United States, my friend, Barack Obama.

From MSNBC's David Shuster
Here's what we know so far:
(1) Fall 2007. A training exercise last fall involved somebody typing in Hillary Clinton's name... The person involved was not fired.
 
(2-a) January 9, 2008. A contractor looked at the passport file of Barack Obama. The supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. But the immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.
 
(2-b) February 21, 2008. Another contractor looked at Obama's passport file. Supervisor felt it was a firing offense. The contractor was fired. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.
 
(3) March 14, 2008. A third contractor accessed Obama's passport file and McCain's passport file. Supervisor felt it was not a firing offense. The contractor suspended. The immediate supervisor didn't notify officials outside office of consular affairs.
 
Key questions: What made the Jan. 9 and Feb. 21 breaches of Obama more serious than the fall '07 breach of Clinton and the March 14 breaches of Obama/McCain?

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell
NBC News has learned that McCain's passport file was also apparantly breached, and
we have confirmed that Sen. Clinton's was as well.

Secretary of State Rice called Clinton today to notify her that her passport file was breached in 2007.

Clinton's Senate office released this statement: "This morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice contacted Senator Clinton in order to inform her that the Senator's passport file was breached in 2007. The State Department will be briefing Senator Clinton's staff this afternoon to provide details about the recent unauthorized breaches of passport records. Senator Clinton will closely monitor the State Department's investigation into this and the other breaches of private passport information."

From NBC's Andrea Mitchell
In the story about passport breach, here's a word of caution before leaping to conclusions about the official in charge of management and consular affairs -- Maura Harty -- who had been appointed by Bill Clinton as ambassador to Paraguay.

Harty actually started out in the Reagan Administration and rose to become a special assistant to former Secretary of State George Shultz.

In addition, Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy started in 1973 during the Nixon Adminstration - when Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State.

They both rose through the ranks under both Republican and Democratic presidents.

I'd caution against assuming any particular connection to the Clintons unless we can establish that. They are not known to be particularly political. They will surely have to answer questions about management and competence, however.  

From NBC's Libby Leist
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said this morning she has spoken to Obama today to express her regret over the unauthorized passport breaches. She did not know about it until yesterday and could not comment whether any laws were broken

"I told him that I was sorry, and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed if I learned somebody had looked into my passport," she said. "We are very concerned about this."

"We are going to do an investigation through the inspector general, who will get to the bottom of it to make certain nothing ... was going on"

VIDEO: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she will launch a full investigation into the unauthorized inquiry into Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's passport file.

The State Department is in contact with Obama's office and will provide briefings. "None of us wants to have a circumstance in which any Americans passport file is looked at in an unauthorized way," Rice added.

From NBC's Mark Murray
With so much attention on the NCAA basketball tournament -- even among the presidential contenders -- the analogy is perhaps more apt than ever: After a week of tough press scrutiny, the Obama campaign is trying to work the refs to even out the coverage.

With the fresh speculation whether the Rev. Wright episode will hurt Obama's chances in the general election, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe held a conference call with reporters arguing that voters' concerns about Clinton's honesty and trustworthiness are damaging to her claims of electability.

"It will be next to impossible to win a general election if more than half the electorate doesn't see you as trustworthy," Plouffe said, citing a Gallup poll showing that just 44% of Americans rate Clinton as honest and trustworthy, compared with 67% for McCain and 63% for Obama. "The American people will simply not elect someone they don't see as honest and trustworthy."

He went on to cite examples in which he said Clinton was being dishonest: telling voters in Ohio that she was against NAFTA (when she attended White House-organized meetings on the trade accord), pushing for re-votes in Florida and Michigan (when she said earlier that those contests didn't count), and even saying Obama wasn't a Muslim "as far as I know" (when she knows well Obama is a Christian).

Also on the call, Obama adviser Greg Craig implored the press to scrutinize why Clinton's White House schedules didn't confirm her claims to foreign policy experience (on Rwanda, Yugoslavia, and Northern Ireland). "I think her claims, with respect to foreign policy, achievements are inflated." 

On its own conference call following the Obama one, the Clinton campaign charged that the Obama camp was "desperate to change the subject" after its tough week -- by disenfranchising voters in Michigan and Florida, peddling photos of Bill Clinton with Rev. Wright, and now attacking Clinton's character. "It is not a pretty sight," Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said.

From Chuck Todd and Mark Murray
*** A bad week for everyone: While it may be hard to compare weeks during this campaign, we imagine there haven't been many that have been this bad for all three campaigns. It was an odd war of attrition, a contest of who had the LESS bad week. For McCain, it was his Shiite-Sunni gaffe, which allowed Democrats to have a field day criticizing his understanding of Iraq, as well as his commander-in-chief credentials. For Clinton, it was the failure to have re-votes in Florida and Michigan, which makes her path toward winning the Democratic much, much more difficult. But hands down, no one had a tougher week than Obama. Just look at the post-Rev. Wright/pre-race speech poll numbers that are still circulating; it's what makes the Clinton and McCain folks think their week went better than Obama's did. That said, two developments that occurred last night -- the news that Bill Richardson is endorsing Obama and the breach of his passport records -- have changed the subject, at least in the short term. But we do have this question for the Obama campaign: Why did it leak that photo of Wright with Bill Clinton? Doesn't that just give cable networks another excuse to run the video of Wright? How does that turn the page? It was an odd decision to say the least.

*** Richardson's endorsement: When John Edwards made an appearance on Leno last night, we were bracing ourselves for a possible endorsement. We just didn't know it would be coming from Bill Richardson, who will formally throw his support behind Obama at a campaign event today in Portland, OR. The endorsement isn't too much of a surprise -- Richardson had been hinting his support for Obama for a while. Still, it's significant for two reasons: 1) Richardson becomes the second Dem presidential contender to endorse Obama, while none has backed Clinton (Biden and Edwards are still neutral); and 2) Richardson specifically cited Obama's speech on race as a reason for getting off the fence. "He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together," he said in a letter to his supporters. "As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words." The Obama camp, though, has to be a bit disappointed the endorsement didn't come before Texas. In fact, of the remaining contests, Puerto Rico is the only one left with a significant Hispanic population. Expect some bitterness from Clinton land on this one, in particular because many of them believe that without Bill Clinton appointing Richardson to two Cabinet posts, he wouldn't have had the experience that makes him a viable veep candidate. Of course, Richardson's endorsement means another superdelegate for Obama, raising his overall delegate total (pledged and supers) to 1,626 vs. 1,506 for Clinton.

VIDEO: NBC's Political Director Chuck Todd offers his first read on Bill Richardson's endorsement of Barack Obama, and continuing talk of race in the presidential campaign. 

*** Breach: While the Richardson endorsement is certainly good news for the Obama campaign, it might actually get more of a political payoff from the news that three contract workers at the State Department had accessed his passport records. The reason? It allows the Obama camp to bash the Bush Administration and galvanize Democratic voters, who might think -- even if it's not true -- that the Administration is engaged in dirty tricks. "Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement last night. "This is a serious matter that merits a complete investigation, and we demand to know who looked at Senator Obama's passport file, for what purpose, and why it took so long for them to reveal this security breach." Déjà vu '92. It's likely a few idiotic rogue wannabe political consultants, but who knows what an investigation will turn up.

*** The downballot omission: Yesterday, Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn released a memo seizing on recent poll numbers showing Clinton's improved standing versus Obama. He wrote, "Ultimately, this Democratic nominating process is meant to select the candidate who will: a) be the best president – the best commander-in-chief, steward of the economy, and exercise leadership; b) defeat John McCain; and c) promote and defend core Democratic principles such as universal health care. On all three fronts, Hillary is the best choice for the Democratic Party." But he left out this consideration: Who would be the best leader for the party when considering downballot races? As we've pointed out before, what has been good for the Clintons (winning two presidential elections), hasn't always been good for the party (which lost control of Congress, state legislatures, and governorships while Clinton was president). Can Clinton's campaign make the pitch to superdelegates that the party would benefit as a whole from a Clinton restoration? Remember, these superdelegates aren't going to worry about who will be the best president. Many of them will be thinking: Who will be the best nominee to keep me in power?

*** McCain's money woes? FEC reports are in for all three presidential candidates, and there are a few headlines. First, the presidential field combined has raised just short of $800 million since last year. That's a stunning figure; the remaining three candidates will pass a $1 billion BEFORE the conventions. Two, McCain raise slightly less money in February than he did in January. That's not a good sign. He can't afford to be raising $11-15 million a month; he needs to get that monthly average above $20 million, at a minimum. No doubt, the McCain folks expect to be outspent by their eventual Dem opponent, as both Obama and Clinton are raising money at an amazing clip. But McCain needs to keep the ratio to less than 2-to-1, and $11-15 million a month doesn't cut it.

*** Typical clumsiness? Obama's defense of his grandmother racial issues by calling her a "typical white person" has many folks up in arms, who rightly claim that if either Clinton or McCain had said the phrase "typical black person" in a similar, there would be a full-fledged media firestorm. Of course, had Obama said this pre-Rev. Wright, would anyone have cared? It shows where this campaign is right now and why Obama's walking a tightrope. Every word he says on race is being scrutinized. This was an odd thing to say and offensive to a number of folks. No doubt we'll hear an apology from Obama. He obviously didn't mean for how it came across but, well, words matter.

*** On the trail: Clinton is down in New York; McCain remains in England and then heads to France; and Obama campaigns all day in Oregon, visiting Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene. Also, Bill Clinton stumps in North Carolina.

Countdown to Pennsylvania: 32 days
Countdown to North Carolina, Indiana: 46 days
Countdown to Election Day 2008: 228 days
Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 305 days

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It's official: Florida and Michigan re-vote proposals are dead.

Politico's Smith notes that without the re-votes, the Clinton campaign's hope of catching Obama in the popular vote is diminishing. "In Pennsylvania, for instance, more than 1.2 million Democrats turned out for the last contested Democratic primary, the 2002 governor's race. Given the higher interest, Democratic operatives there — who declined to be quoted speculating — said they could imagine the vote getting as high as 2 million. Under that, highly optimistic scenario, an unprecedented blowout for Clinton — a margin of 20 percent, for instance — would give her 400,000 more votes in the state, and still leave her with more than 300,000 to make up."

"And few Pennsylvania Democrats actually expect such a result, despite Clinton's lead in many state polls. Clinton's convincing victory in Ohio, for instance — a whiter, more conservative state — was by a margin of 10 percent." More:  For Clinton to pick up her lead in the popular vote with 6 million ballots cast, she'd need a 12 percent margin across the states — that's a 56 percent to 44 percent average win. With 5 million ballots, she would need a 14 percent margin — that's a 57 percent to 43 percent overall victory, including expected defeats in states counting for well over 1 million votes."

The Washington Post comes out for re-votes: "There would be some unfairness either way, but the better solution would be to allow anyone who wants to vote in the open primary to cast a ballot. The assumption is that this discussion is moot because the state legislature adjourned yesterday for a two-week break. Maybe, but if Michigan lawmakers care about their state's voters, they will come back to fix the mess they helped create. Otherwise, the party should figure out a way to get a new round of voting done on its own."

This little passport imbroglio is just the type of distraction the Obama campaign was looking for, no? Here's the original Washington Times story on the incident: "Two State Department employees were fired recently and a third disciplined for improperly accessing electronic personal data on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, Bush administration officials said today. The officials, all contract workers, used their authorized computer network access to look up files within the department's consular affairs section, which processes and stores passport information, and read Mr. Obama's passport application and other records, in violation of department privacy rules, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement: "This is an outrageous breach of security and privacy, even from an Administration that has shown little regard for either over the last eight years. Our government's duty is to protect the private information of the American people, not use it for political purposes. This is a serious matter that merits a complete investigation, and we demand to know who looked at Senator Obama's passport file, for what purpose, and why it took so long for them to reveal this security breach."

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson added, "It is outrageous and the Bush Administration should get to the bottom of it."

Per NBC's Libby Leist, A senior State Department official insisted there was "no political motivation" to these incidents. He says they were low-level contract employees doing administrative work and they accessed the Obama records out of "curiosity." This official doesn't believe any of this information was sent anywhere. The records were accessed on three different occasions by three separate individuals -- on January 9, February 21, and March 14. 

On conference call last night, NBC's Andrea Mitchell adds, Patrick Kennedy of the State Department said there is no reason to think that the contract employees will not cooperate with the inspector general, even though they acknowledge that fired employees have no obligation to do so. The IG would have no legal authority over these fired contract employees. At this stage, Kennedy and spokesman Sean McCormick say they are not forwarding this to the Justice Department. Moreover, McCormick said he first learned about the incidents from a reporter's call yesterday -- not from an official internal report.

The Washington Post uses the release of Clinton's White House schedules to look at her experience claims. "On March 22, 1999, Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived at the Itihadiya Palace in Egypt for what her schedule said was a 'courtesy call with President Mubarak.' Aides blocked out 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Then she embarked on visits to a mosque, museum, clinic, bazaar, youth center, groundwater project, university and the Temple of Luxor. Almost exactly nine years later to the day, Clinton's trip to Egypt offers a case study of her foreign policy role during her husband's presidency. While traveling across North Africa, she devoted little time to heads of state and negotiated no agreements, but instead met community leaders, explored local issues and culture, hit major tourist sites and gave speeches on women's rights and other topics important to her."

"Whether that has made her 'tested and ready' to be president from the first day, as she now claims, is a burning issue on the campaign trail." More: "While Clinton's advertisements have boasted that she is best prepared for a 3 a.m. crisis phone call, the schedules contain no evidence that Clinton was at the table during major national security decisions. They do not list her as attending National Security Council meetings or joining briefings in the Situation Room. She did not have a national security clearance. And the documents make clear that at moments of major crisis, Clinton was often busy with her own agenda."

The Obama camp seized on the NAFTA campaigning Clinton did during her husband's push for the trade pact's passage in '93. The news was revealed in her White House schedules released on Wednesday.

The New York Times reports, "[T]his week, Mrs. Clinton's electability argument has taken on a new dimension that for her and her advisers is both discomfiting and unpredictable, but also potentially helpful. Some Democrats are now looking at the racially incendiary and anti-American remarks of Mr. Obama's longtime pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., and wondering if that association could weaken Mr. Obama as a nominee. Clinton advisers have asked their allies not to talk openly about the issue, for fear it could create a voter backlash and alienate black Democrats. They also say Mr. Obama, of Illinois, is in enough trouble over Mr. Wright that they do not need to foment more — and, besides, cable television is keeping the issue alive."

More: "Despite the complications and risks of engaging on the issue, some allies of Mrs. Clinton said they were privately pushing the issue with key party members to lift her candidacy. And at least one prominent surrogate of hers has gone off message: Lanny Davis, a former Clinton White House lawyer, has publicly challenged Mr. Obama to answer questions about his views on racist speech and Mr. Wright."

Both Clintons have been barnstorming Indiana this week.

The Obama campaign released a photo of Rev. Wright and Bill Clinton. Why?  Here's the campaign back-and-forths on the photo... "Less than 48 hours after calling for a high-minded conversation on race, the Obama campaign is peddling photos of an occasion when President Clinton shook hands with Rev. Wright," a Clinton campaign spokesman said.

"To be clear, President Clinton took tens of thousands of photos during his eight years as president."

The Obama campaign shot back, accusing the Clinton team of pushing the Wright story to knock Obama's lead in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee. "After their top surrogates pushed this storyline, and Senator Clinton's campaign outlined this as a central strategy in her plan to overturn the will of Democratic voters, I can see why they wouldn't want a photo out there that shows the kind of hypocrisy we've all come to expect from their campaign," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in an e-mail."

National Journal's Kirk Victor looks at the decision-making process behind McCain's veep search. "[F]airly or not, the decision assumes more importance than usual in McCain's case because he will be 72 on Inauguration Day ... and because he has had cancer... Folks on and off Capitol Hill also say that McCain, perhaps more than other recent nominees, has more competing considerations to weigh in selecting a running mate. They cite his famous maverick ways ... and his acknowledgement that economics is not his strong suit."

Karl Rove weighs in on the national security question for the campaign: "Elections are rarely decided over just one issue; to win, candidates don't need to have a majority of Americans agreeing with them on every big issue. But when it comes to choosing a president, Americans take seriously the candidates' views and experience on national security. Voters instinctively understand a president's principal constitutional responsibility is protecting the country.

The Democrats have two candidates with less national security experience and fewer credentials than the presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. And they are compounding these difficulties with positions on Iraq and terrorist surveillance that are shared by a shrinking minority of Americans."

With McCain in France today, the liberal Campaign for America's Future has released a video hitting McCain on the Airbus tanker deal.

Richardson sent an email to supporters to explain his reasons for picking Obama. "Earlier this week, Senator Barack Obama gave an historic speech that addressed the issue of race with the eloquence, sincerity, and optimism we have come to expect of him. He inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility. He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together."

"As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants--specifically Hispanics-- by too many in this country. Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences--and place blame on others not like them. We all know the real culprit -- the disastrous economic policies of the Bush Administration!

"Senator Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race. He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans. His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And, after nearly eight years of George W. Bush, we desperately need such a leader."

Per NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan, Obama often has been billed as the wine-drinking candidate, who's unable to attract the working-class, beer-track voters that are the staple of the Democratic Party. It's no exaggeration to say that in a sports bar in Beckley, West Virginia yesterday Obama found the answer to winning over those regular Joes. Plopping down at a table with a group of men, he sat, talked, ate two chicken wings, and dissected the NCAA tournament. Why didn't Mississippi State make his final four pick? "They don't have good free throws," he explained. "Pittsburgh is hot," he declared, insisting that it had nothing to do with politics. He told the assembled crowd that he watched ESPN's Sports Center to unwind. By the end of the visit, the bar patrons -- who had appeared more interested in the games playing on the multiple TV screens when he walked in -- applauded when he walked out.

"Senator Obama you sat down, talked, ate some chicken wings and watched basketball in March. You just got my vote," Michael Cross from St. Albans, West Virginia told Obama. Cross later said that he was a Democrat but hadn't been comfortable with the choices in the primary and had a considered moving over to vote for John McCain.

It's a telling incident that shows how Obama can appeal to guys by being a guy. His campaign posted his NCAA bracket on its website, a smart move that allows the candidate to appear just like the rest of the country rather than a shiny new political hot shot.  And the pictures of him eating chicken wings and sipping on water (it was two in the afternoon) may help him at least slice off a portion of men who would otherwise may have voted for Clinton in a primary and perhaps McCain in a general election.

The only problem is that March Madness only lasts so long. "You a baseball fan?" one man asked Obama at the bar. "The White Sox," Obama answered affirmatively. 

Yesterday, in West Virginia, Obama's economic speech avoided mentions of Clinton and instead focused on Bush and McCain. The speech allowed for Obama to find himself in another back-and-forth with the McCain campaign. 
 
The Boston Globe sent reporters to Hammond, Ind. to get some man/woman on the street reaction to Obama's race speech. "Frieda Andersen and Ted Skup are both white, both live in northwestern Indiana, and both plan to vote in their state's Democratic presidential primary in May. Andersen, an 82-year-old retired business manager, said Obama's two-decade-long association with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who is under fire for his harsh sermons condemning America and white racism, has pushed her firmly into Senator Hillary Clinton's camp. 'Twenty years he put up with that?' she said of Obama. 'He was softening me up. He was kind of even with Hillary. This cinched it.'"

"But Skup, a 56-year-old who works for BP, said he empathizes with the anger many African-Americans feel and believes it would be unfair to punish Obama for remarks Wright has made. He plans to stick with Obama. 'I think the pastor just overreacted,' Skup said. 'I don't use that against [Obama].'"

Peggy Noonan weighs on Tuesday's speech. "It seemed to me as honest a speech as one in his position could give within the limits imposed by politics. As such it was a contribution. We'll see if it was a success."

Wow! The entire Dem and GOP presidential fields, since this campaign began, have collectively raised just under $800 million. This means, the remaining candidates will easily push that number over a $1 billion. Think about that: $1 billion dollars. Granted, the dollar isn't worth as much as it was four years ago, but wow. "Obama, the freshman Democratic senator from Illinois, reported raising $192.7 million and spending $154.7 million on his campaign through the end of February. He spent $42.7 million in February while competing in more than 30 nominating contests."

"Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was second in fundraising. She collected $34.6 million in February, pushing her total to $173.8 million. That includes $10 million from her Senate campaign account and a $5-million personal loan. Clinton owes consultants and other vendors an additional $3.7 million. The presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain, raised $11 million in February, his best month. Overall, the Arizona senator had raised $60.2 million, and spent $49 million through the end of February. McCain paid off much of his debt to consultants and other vendors. An aide to McCain said Thursday that McCain had raised more in the month of March than he did in any three-month period previously."

The New York Times notes McCain actually raised less in February than he did in January when he WASN'T yet the presumptive nominee.

McCain's $11 million haul has to become his fundraising floor. If he simply averages $11-15 million a month between now and November, he'll have a SERIOUS resource deficit compared to his eventual Dem foe. Can McCain start raising $20-25 million a month? We'll find out on April 20, when his March fundraising is released. March is the first OFFICIAL month he was raising cash as the presumptive nominee.

The Los Angeles Times notes, "Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, who are running for president as economic populists, are benefiting handsomely from Wall Street donations, easily surpassing Republican John McCain in campaign contributions from the troubled financial services sector. It is part of a broader fundraising shift toward Democrats, compared to past campaigns when Republicans were the favorites of Wall Street."

"Some Democrats worry that the influx of money will make their candidates less willing to call for increased regulation of financial markets, which have been in turmoil after a wave of foreclosures on sub-prime mortgages. These concerned Democrats argue that their candidates, and presumptive Republican nominee McCain, should be willing to push for financial institutions to accept more government regulation -- in exchange for likely future bailouts, such as the recent deal the Federal Reserve orchestrated for JPMorgan Chase & Co. to take over Bear Stearns Cos."

There are some folks who wonder if the Democrats in the '90s got talked into being "yes people" for Wall Street so that they didn't create an enemy in Wall Street that they had in the '70s and '80s. And that led to bipartisan lack of regulation of the money markets.

From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
TERRE HAUTE, IN -- Clinton kept the pressure on Obama for another day, urging him to sign on to a re-vote in Michigan and saying not re-doing primaries there and in Florida would call into question the legitimacy of the ultimate nominee.
  
"I went to Michigan yesterday because I feel so strongly that it is not in the best interests of our party or our chances for victory in November to deny the rights of the people of Florida and Michigan. I do not see how two of our largest and most significant states can be disenfranchised and left out of the process of picking our nominee without raising serious questions about the legitimacy of that nominee," she told reporters after a roundtable at a diner. "So again I would call on Sen. Obama to join me in supporting the rights of the people of Michigan and Florida to have their voices and their votes counted."

She said she would support finding a way to seat the two states' delegates regardless of the outcome. "I would be in favor of fixing this problem no matter what my position," she said. "I have been consistently in favor of it. Remember, I'm the one who kept my name on the ballot. I had no idea what the outcome would be. I did not run advertising in Florida. I abided by the rules and did not campaign in Florida. I didn't know what the outcome would be."

Clinton suggested Obama was afraid to have a re-vote. "For the life of me, I don't understand why Sen. Obama seems to be afraid of letting there be a re-vote in Michigan," she said.

The senator also restated her opposition to NAFTA, despite schedules released yesterday showing she attended at least one meeting on the trade deal during her time as first lady. She also restated her plans for reviewing the agreement.

For the second time this week, Clinton declined to talk about what steps she would take to halt the fall of the dollar, calling any intervention in terms of the value of the currency a "sensitive" topic.

From NBC's Lauren Appelbaum
Continuing their trip through the Middle East and Europe, Sens. McCain, Lieberman, and Graham stopped in London today. At a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, McCain said they discussed climate change, the world's economy, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
 
McCain continued to view his foreign policy gaffe in Jordan as simple "misspeak." Asked about Obama's comments yesterday that maybe this is why McCain voted to go to war with a country with no ties to Al Qaeda, McCain dismissed the notion.
 
"Well, we all misspeak from time to time, and I immediately corrected it," McCain told an international press corps outside No. 10 Downing Street. "Just as Sen. Obama said he was looking forward to meeting the President of Canada, we all misspeak from time to time."
 
"It's very clear that I have a lot of experience in Iraq and the situation," McCain continued. "It was my eighth visit there. We just move on."
 
When BBC News asked McCain to speak about critical comments made about him as being the same as Bush on foreign policy, the Arizona senator politely declined to answer. "I won't discuss this other issue because that's not the purpose of our visit. I am here as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and looking and discussing those issues concerning our nation's defense and security, with all due respect."
 
Lieberman, who we noted earlier has turned into McCain's overseas MVP, later interrupted to give his two cents on the issue. "I would just, may I say very briefly as a colleague and long time co-worker and friend, Senator McCain is a consistent and steadfast internationalist on matters both diplomatic and economic, and environmental."
 
"He is also, as we say in the US, a straight talker," Lieberman continued. "He has never hesitated to disagree with his friends and allies and certainly with those who don't support him when he thinks they are not serving the national interest. And his early advocacy for American leadership on the problem of global warming is probably the best recent examples of that. So he, he does it his way."

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan and NBC's Mark Murray
If there's one thing outside of politics that can steal a candidate's attention -- especially the hoops enthusiast Obama -- it's March Madness, which begins in the next hour or two.

Obama has his money on the University of North Carolina to win the NCAA tournament this year beating out UCLA in the final.

His top bracket picks include: UNC in the East, Kansas in the Midwest, Pittsburgh in the South, and UCLA in the West. Some of those picks don't seem to be by accident, at least according to our political eyes: UNC is the flagship university in North Carolina (which has its primary on May 6), Pittsburgh is in Pennsylvania (which goes on April 22); and Kansas is where his mother's family hailed from.

Obama is a huge basketball fan, and was even caught pondering over his bracket when sitting in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. He joked that he was focusing on what was "important."

Obama was the last person to submit his bracket to the friendly staff-only betting pool. (Entry was $10.) Hotline reported this morning that Obama spokesmen "Bill Burton and Dan Pfeiffer both have Georgetown in the championship, but UCLA winning. Speechwriter Jon Favreau and Ben Finkenbinder have Kansas. Strategist David Axelrod and policy dir Heather Higginbottom picked UNC."

Asked why he was taking so long filling out his own bracket, Obama said: "I'm taking this very seriously. It's a science."

Obama has been playing basketball since he was in high school. He regularly finds a way to sneak some court time in on the campaign trail, shooting hoops with secret service, staff and just yesterday the troops from Fort Bragg.